I was up in Prince Edward County a few weeks ago and tried some wines. Not too bad! It was cool seeing the vineyard practices up there at this time of year with the much cooler climate than Niagara and how all the vineyards had their vines (trunk and the potential canes that would be kept after pruning) buried in soil to protect the buds from the harsh winter. That was neat.

I'm lucky enough to spend a week each year in the County with relatives. The wine and food scene have exploded in the past couple of years! My favorites that you MUST visit if you are ever in the area are Closson Chase and Norm Hardie.

If you're a fan of crisp, German-style Riesling, and spicy Gewürztraminer, you need to add Konzelmann Estate Winery to your list!

Thanks Andrew. I picked up an excellent Gewürztraminer and a very good Chardonnay there last year.

I'm not a big fan of 'crisp' Rieslings. They lose much of their flavour and subtlety as sweetness is lowered. In Germany, there is a precise relationship between sugar content and acidity that allows for the "Mit Kabinett" designation. There is a good reason for this.

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Fred

-------Blujays1: Spending Fred's money one bottle at a time, no two... Oh crap!

I finally made it to the booze store to peruse the bubblies and after all the recommendations I chose... none of them. Could not find one.

I think I did OK though. I briefly considered the $264 French champagne because, well, who wouldn't like to drink a $264 bottle of wine, but common sense got the better of me.

I remember somebody mentioning something about Spain so when I found the Neveran Perles Roses I figured I couldn't go wrong. The tasting notes were interesting and it did rate a respectable 89.

The second is a bottle from the Alsace. A Ruhlman Crement, D'Alsace. It has this nifty little sticker on it that says Concours 2011 MEDAILLE D'OR Colmar. While my French is not very good, I'm pretty sure it does not say Lump of Coal Award.

I'll let you know how they taste.

I'm very surprised you couldn't find any of those suggestions at your LCBO, especially those Ontario sparklings. Even at my local LCBO, my most recent visit they had bottles of the HOP Cuvee Catharine Brut (though not the Rose) and the Cave Spring Blanc de Blancs Brut. I ended up with a bottle of the Cave Spring sparkling.

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I’m armed and I’m drinking. You don’t want to listen to advice from me, amigo.

Cool. I couldn't find the Cave Spring CSV either. It's the Riesling that comes from the grapes in the best block in the vineyard which also has the oldest vines. The terroir really shines through. It's priced in the $30 range/bottle. Really, really good. In general Riesling does particularly well in Ontario. I did find a bottle of their Riesling at the LCBO from their other Riesling blocks but didn't buy it. It's still very good though. It runs about $15-$17 bucks/bottle.

Well, you will find out for yourself anyways soon .

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I’m armed and I’m drinking. You don’t want to listen to advice from me, amigo.

BTW, for an interesting change at Thanksgiving, I poured 2/3s champagne to 1/3 Cranberry wine (a Muskoka classic - they grow in Bala) and it was really lovely - tasty with Turkey and beautiful on the table.

We bought a case of Muskoka Lakes Crannberry wine last year...didn't last long!

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Half of communication is listening. You can't listen with your mouth.